Challenge
by Cira Stones
Summary: Wolfram was a walking challenge, one that Yuuri was determined to win before anyone else.


At long last, I have uploaded a new fanfic!

I think it turned out well so I pretty happy. It must have been sitting in my computer for months before I found it again a while back. Anway, please R&R.

Graciously edited by CheyanneChika.

* * *

Sometimes, Yuuri wanted to slap himself for having never seeing it before. For as much time as he had spent with Wolfram over the past five years, one would think he would have noticed it already. But not only had it taken five years, it had also taken Wolfram being hit on, countless times in front of him, before Yuuri ever noticed.

Wolfram was a walking challenge, one that was as potentially fatal as it was tempting.

With Wolfram's looks; the soft, silky hair, the pale, smooth skin, deep verdure green eyes and slim body, he could only be described as an angel from heaven. He was even cuter if one was able to make him blush and become flustered. Yuuri only realized last year that he was extremely talented in that area. The smallest compliment on Wolfram's apparence or the slightest touch from him caused that rose pink tint to appear on the blonde's face for all to see.

Men and women alike flocked to Wolfram as if he were some rare jewel. After seeing it happen so many times, Yuuri began to see it as though Wolfram and all his potential suitors were in some kind of race; a challenge to dominate. And Wolfram was the prize waiting at the end; but his pride and stubborness were obstacles they all needed to pass.

One suitor after another would try to seduce Wolfram, hoping to gain some kind of lead over the others. But it wasn't easily done. Wolfram may have looked like an angel, but he was in no way easy to seduce. Fancy gifts had little appeal to Wolfram, and charming wordplay didn't impress him. Nor did they help to attract Wolfram's attention to the suitor. In fact, the continuation of such behavior usually enticed hostility from Wolfram rather than romantic feelings. One couldn't afford to forget that Wolfram was a master with both his sword _and_ his fire.

Yuuri would almost laugh, seeing people try such tactics on Wolfram. The blonde always shot them down. Some would leave right after, while others simply stepped back and sulked. Occasionally one would walk away unaffected by the rejection and just continue on with their day. Those people annoyed Yuuri, though he didn't admit that out loud.

And then there were ones that kept coming back despite being rejected. Those people worried Yuuri. They tended to come back with more intense attempts at Wolfram, often behaving forcefully towards him. Luckily, those people were usually taken care of before the situation could become dangerous. And afterwards, Yuuri would make sure they didn't ever think about coming back. Again, something he didn't exactly say out loud.

It was a game, a race, a challenge. And there was surprising number of participants.

But, perhaps because he spends so much time with Wolfram, sometimes Yuuri forgot he himself wasn't exempt from this challenge. If anything, he had to be even more careful than everyone else. If he said or did the wrong thing, he could potentially widen the gap already between him and Wolfram; a gap formed from years of Yuuri running away from his friend's declartions of love.

Yuuri himself felt he couldn't be blamed for (most) of his actions during the beginning. He gets pulled into an alien world, is told he is to become Maoh, and _then_ accidentally proposes to a male demon he had only met that day! And he's expected to just accept it all? It was hard to take in all at once.

So it should've been understandable that he's had a hard time accepting Wolfram as his fiancé as well as the duty of being the Moah. It had taken a fair bit of time but he had done it. But that was years ago. Now, he couldn't say he didn't know his feelings or that he was still learning his job. He knew his feelings. He had discovered them a long time ago, and his attitude towards their engagement was changing, little by little.

Yet he still couldn't find the courage to say three little words.

Yuuri sighed and looked at his fiancé on the other side of the room. The blonde didn't notice him, too busy with helping Greta understand some passage in a book. He looked back down at his desk, glaring at the documents in front of him. They were requests for a marriage interview with Wolfram, all from various suitors who Wolfram probably didn't even remember meeting.

Even though everyone knew Wolfram was already engaged to Yuuri, some still had the nerve to try and court him. Yuuri looked up again, saw Wolfram still instructing, and got up. He walked over to the fireplace, threw the papers in and started poking them with fireplace poker.

"Yuuri, what are you burning?" asked Wolfram as Greta thanked him and ran off.

"Just some spare papers I spilled ink on." he replied, watching the last of them curl and blacken. "There!" he said, turning and smiling at Wolfram, who eyed him somewhat suspiciously. He had done the same thing last week, when a request arrrived from an important guest who had met Wolfram when he attended a dinner meant to create goodwill between the Maoh and the aristocratics. The request had been rather, _insistent_, that Wolfram accompany the sender on an overseas trip. How the requests kept ending up on Yuuri's desk, instead of making it to Wolfram, was unknown. Though Yuuri had a hunch that Conrad and Gwendal were behind it.

The double black walked over to the window, looking down into the garden below. The flowers were in full bloom and a light breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees.

"You could have just thrown them o-" Began the blonde, but he was cut off.

"Wolfram, I got an great idea!" Said Yuuri, grabbing the blonde by the hand and pulling him up. "Let's have lunch outside today!"

"Huh?"

Yuuri started pulling him towards the door. Wolfram hadn't seen the requests, he didn't even know about them. The latter of which Yuuri may or may not have had something to do with. Though he may not be able to tell _his_ fiancé his feelings yet, that didn't mean he was going to let some other suitor have the chance to get ahead.

Wolfram was a challenge; one that Yuuri was determined to win before anyone else.


End file.
